Parasites Can Cause Weight Gain: How Toxocara Affects the Body

Parasites do not always lead to weight loss — some, like Toxocara, can stimulate excess weight gain.

This is reported by AgroReview

Why Toxocara Causes Weight Gain

The common belief that parasites always cause weight loss is not always true. Some helminths can trigger processes that, on the contrary, lead to the accumulation of fat tissue. A vivid example is Toxocara — its larvae, once inside the human body, actively move through tissues, causing chronic inflammatory processes and allergic reactions. Since the immune system cannot completely eliminate Toxocara larvae, inflammation can persist for a long time — sometimes for years.

Hormonal and Metabolic Changes

In response to prolonged inflammation, the brain signals the adrenal glands to increase cortisol production — a hormone that helps suppress allergies. To produce cortisol, the body requires cholesterol, which stimulates its increased production by the liver. Excess cholesterol begins to accumulate in fat tissue, which can ultimately lead to weight gain, the development of fatty liver disease, and metabolic syndrome.

Clearing the body of Toxocara (and similar parasites) in some cases leads to gradual weight loss without additional diets or exercise.

The prolonged presence of parasites in the body can cause obesity even when a person does not change their eating habits. In some cases, after treatment and removal of Toxocara, patients’ weight gradually decreases without the need for strict diets or intense physical activity.